Luxembourg's unemployment agency, ADEM, and the national statistics agency, Statec, recently reported that the total number of people working in Luxembourg crossed the 500,000 milestone for the first time (in March 2022).
The total employment figure of 500,122 at the end of March 2022, which includes self-employed individuals as well as salaried workers, has been steadily increasing over the past 20 or so years and nearly doubled than the January 2000 figure (255,477).
In annual growth terms, from January 2000 to January 2022, the total employment numbers in Luxembourg witnessed an average increase of 3.05% per year, considerably higher than the average 1.77% annual increase in resident population in the same period.
However, the total number of jobseekers (registered unemployment) increased from 5,150 in January 2000 to 14,576 in March 2022, nearly a threefold increase over the past 22 years.
Between January 2000 to January 2022, the number of registered jobseekers fluctuated with economic circumstances and net population increases, and more recently, in 2020 and 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Another fluctuation was seen during the financial crisis in 2008.
On average, the total number of registered jobseekers increased on average 5.13% annually in the abovementioned period. This can be, at least partly, down to significant increases in the resident population as well as former cross-border workers (resident in Germany, France and Belgium) who started to claim benefits in Luxembourg.
Overall, in absolute numbers, total national employment figures in Luxembourg increased by 104,380 between January 2000 and January 2022, excluding self-employment, whilst number of registered jobseekers increased by 10,320 in the same period.
